Hand-Sewn Quilting Primer Series: Improv Patchwork

A Virtual Class with Zak Foster


CLASS MATERIALS

  • Scraps of fabric
  • Needle (any kind will do, Zak likes milliners needles)
  • Thread (any kind will do, Zak works with cotton or silk)
  • Scissors
  • Iron (optional)
  • Rotary cutter (optional)

This course will explore improvisational patchwork, a method of piecing quilts that has a long and complex history which largely starts in Gee’s Bend, Alabama, in a Black, rural community whose work is now exhibited around the world. We will touch on this cultural context and its implications for modern makers, as well as covering basic sewing techniques like the running stitch, the back stitch, the quilters knot, and a small basting stitch. Perfect for beginners or those looking to get a more formal training in traditional hand-stitching techniques.


Dates
Thursday, October 27th, 2022

Time

12pm – 2:30pm ET*

Location
Zoom, a link will be send to participants the day before class

Cost
$60 for the individual class, $350 for the series

*This session will be recorded. A link to the recording will be emailed to all those who register following the live session. This link is live for one month for you to watch at your convenience.


This class is part of the Hand-Sewing Quilter Primer Series.

Perfect for the beginner, our Quilting Primer series aims to demystify the act of hand sewing a quilt block through a sequence of diverse forays into block constructing. While rooted in quilting’s history of using scrap fabrics to make beautiful coverlets, this series gathers contemporary voices and techniques to give the new sewist a set of skills and the confidence to take on an existing pattern or personal composition.

Exposure to seven unique teachers affords any sewist, seasoned or novice, the opportunity to witness varied approaches even within the same technique. Experiencing the series as whole is sure to provide a comprehensive foundation and will get you well on your way in a joyful practice of hand-sewn quilting.

The blocks from each class can then be assembled together in any way you like to represent a sampler of skills. They would also make great pillows or patches for another textile.

We hope you will join us for all seven of our quilting classes to increase your confidence and skill in hand sewing quilt blocks. You can sign up for the entire series here.

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OUR TEACHER
Zak Foster

Raised in rural North Carolina and now living in Brooklyn, New York, Zak is a self-taught artist whose work draws on Southern textile traditions while incorporating found fabrics and natural dyes with an eye for sustainability. He practices an approach to design that is intuitive and improvisational and he is drawn to preserving the stories of quilts and specializes in memory quilts and burial quilts. His work has been featured in various magazines, websites, and galleries. Learn more about his work in his monthly email, Motivation for the Maker, at zakfoster.com/newsletter.


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